Cycling The Road Less Travelled

After a little over a week in Northern Laos, we made our way to Luang Prabang. The road between the border and Udomxai was in pretty good shape. It deteriorated quite a bit after that, at times we were picking our way through potholes that could easily swallow up a cyclist or motor scooter. Nevertheless we were rewarded with beautiful vistas and a chorus of “saybaidees”.

After the remoteness of the north, Luang Prabang was a bit of shock to the system; lots of tourists and a wide array of very high end shops and trendy restaurants. Luang Prabang, with its beautiful Wats, bustling night market and gorgeous French provincial architecture is a great place to lounge for a few days. It’s a World Heritage Sight, no doubt. One of the things to definitely not miss is the early morning procession of monks; hundreds of monks, clad in orange, walking single file receiving rice and alms from the locals. It’s really very peaceful, very beautiful.

We spent a few days here just chilling with some banana fruit shakes. Tomorrow we set off again. The cycling from here to Vientiane is supposed to be stunning but “brutal”.